Student resources for Chapter 11: Language and the Social World

Study guide for Chapter 11: Language and the Social World

TerminologyYou should be able to simply define or explain the following terms and concepts.

African American English (AAE)

accent

alternation

code-switching

bidialectal

community of practice

dialect

diglossia

identity

indexicality

interactional roles

interlanguage

insertion

language ideology

lexical borrowing

linguistic feature

linguistic repertoire

linguistic variety

loanword

monolingual

multilingual

persona

register

relational roles

slang

sociocultural linguistics

stance

standard

style

style shifting

tag switching

variable

variant

vernacular

"women's language"

Important Points

Through the linguistic choices we make, we are constantly positioning ourselves and others as particular kinds of people who are members of particular social groups, and who have particular beliefs and attitudes; this is how language constructs identity.

We hold beliefs about language and its users that can profoundly shape how we treat them.

All varieties of a language are equally “good”; there is no sense in which a dialect is a “corrupt” version of a standard.

All varieties are regular and systematic.

Everyone speaks a dialect; everyone has an accent; everyone has a vernacular.

There are social ramifications of speaking different varieties. Certain varieties that are institutionally less powerful may carry social stigmas in some situations.

Social meanings of variants are not inherent; they may be different across groups and contexts, and may change over time.

“Women’s language” is not a description of the speech of most women but rather a language ideology about how women are expected to speak.

Code-switching requires two (or more) speakers fluent in BOTH languages; code-switching is not a sign of disfluency in either language.

Membership in different communities of practice may override shared demographic membership in accounting for language use.

SkillsOn completion of this chapter, you should be able to perform the following tasks:

You should be able to distinguish style shifting, code-switching, diglossia, and interlanguage

You should be able to distinguish dialect, register, style, accent, and slang

You should be able to identify linguistic features that differentiate language varieties

You should be able to speak knowledgably about language ideologies

Provide examples of how language is used to create different forms of identity

You should be able to identify different features of African American English